Wasatch County is full of emerging young artists, and 332 of them participated in this year’s Emergence Art Contest. Since its inception in 2021 the contest has continued to grow and evolve. With Angie Neuberger and Amy Taylor at the helm, this year marks another success, especially with Diana Zarrabel jumping in to help ensure everything from contest information to entry forms were available in both English and Spanish; creating an equitable opportunity for everybody.
In keeping with this year’s theme Everyday Heroes, Amy and Angie would like to give a huge shout out to all the sponsors, volunteers, judges, teachers, and student artists, without whom the 2024 Emergence Art Contest would not be possible — they are some of the best everyday heroes Wasatch County has!
2024 Judges: Chantry Brewer, Ella Ballsteadt, Sarah Severson, Savannah Neuberger, and Colby Larsen.
Tirelessly performing the crucial task of capturing and interpreting the world around us. From the moment we wake until we rest our heads, our eyes as vigilant guardians, guiding us through the complexities of our environment. In my artwork, I chose the optometrist as my everyday heroes who empower individuals to see clearly and navigate the world with confidence. Whether prescribing corrective lenses, managing eye disease, or providing guidance on ocular health, optometrists are unwavering allies in our journey towards optimal vision and well-being.
When I thought about who my everyday hero is I decided to do a project on medical workers. My art project is of a medical worker holding up their hand in a heart shape. Doctors show so much love and compassion to people on a daily basis and save so many people’s lives. I am hoping to pursue a medical career path and am inspired by these people so much. In my watercolor painting, I tried to incorporate movement from the arms and the stethoscope to make the heart my focal point. I feel like the most important part of a hero is their heart and their selflessness.
Sometimes everyday heroes for kids can be anything. This is a drawing of Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man) looking up. I drew this to demonstrate the significance of looking up to someone or our heroes and the effect that can have. Spider-Man has given me a lot of motivation as a kid. On one hand, Spider-Man is just an ordinary dude. On another, he has a big impact. He makes me think about the difference I can make. He is my everyday superhero.
When asked who the most important, influential person in my life is, one of the first people I always think about is my mother. She has raised me and become one of my closest friends in a way that makes her my hero. In this project, I’ve made a watercolor painting based off of one of my favorite photos of us. She is the inspiration for this project, and the painting is a gift to her.
Trees help us live and they give us oxygen and if we didn’t have trees we wouldn’t be alive. They give us shade and homes for animals. They give us wood to build houses.
Trees are everyday heroes.
I called my art Helping Hands because one person is reaching down to help the other person who is having a hard time. The top hand is smaller because even kids can be heroes to adults and help them out. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can be a hero. Just by doing something kind for someone else or being there for someone. It doesn’t have to be a huge thing, but sometimes it is huge to the person you are helping.
I dedicated this drawing to my hero who is my grandfather. He is 82 years old. When he was 18, he left his family without telling them and enrolled in the military. He trained to become a paratrooper. His enrollment ended just before the Vietnam war. I love him, and that is why I dedicated this one to him.
This painting is a reminder of the good times in the mountain with my family. My family are definitely my heroes in many ways.
Nature is our everyday hero because we get all of our resources and supplies from it, we live in it, and it is our everyday playground. This picture was shot right in my own backyard.
